Two Choices
by Lisa Smithers
Summary: Sherlock is presented with two choices, neither of which are good options. John helps him choose the right one. Did John help Sherlock correctly? Or will the choice backfire on the both of them? Will it save thousands of lives, or end them?
1. The Problem

John walked through the door of 221b to see Sherlock sitting in his chair, just as John had left him this morning. There were no body parts on the table, and none in the refrigerator. After seeing that the flat was no messier than it had been before he left, John came to the conclusion that Sherlock had not moved from that position since he had left to go to his practice that morning.  
John walked into the kitchen and put the kettle to boil. He walked back into the sitting room to see that Sherlock still had yet to move a muscle. He was still holding his violin, just as he had been this morning. His eyes stared out into the air, focused on something seen only by him.  
"I'm making some tea, you want any?" John asked.  
"Hmm..." Sherlock hummed. John took that as a yes. John walked back into the kitchen and prepared each of them a cuppa. He reached out to hand the cuppa to Sherlock, but Sherlock made no move to take it. After holding it out for a few seconds, John sighed and set the cup on the table beside him.  
"What are you doing?" John asked. He didn't expect any answer, and nor did he get one. At least, not until five minutes later.  
"Thinking." Sherlock muttered.  
"You've been doing that an awful lot lately." John commented, looking up from his mug. It was a moment before Sherlock answered.  
"Stop trying to deduce me." Sherlock said. "You're making yourself look like a fool. Just ask me what I'm thinking." John stared at Sherlock for a second, wondering how in the world Sherlock had figured out exactly what John was thinking, then shook his head, deciding that it didn't really matter. Sherlock was Sherlock. John sometimes wondered if even Sherlock himself knew exactly how he knew what he knew. Then again, he probably did. Sherlock was Sherlock after all.  
John cleared his throat. "So... uh- what are you thinking then? Something interesting?"  
"Yes, very." Sherlock said, "A paradox... Listen closely, you maybe of some help." John nodded. Sherlock sat silent for a moment.  
"I'm listening." John prompted.  
"If a person was to have two choices, one being they could help a lot of good people, but to do that they have to harm some bad people people, or, they can not harm bad people, but it will turn out not good over all for the good people. Which is the right choice?" John thought for a moment.  
"Well, I suppose that would depend on just how much good it would do." He said.  
"Quite a lot more than it would hurt." Sherlock said. "But helping lots of people in this particular way would not be encouraged by most. In fact, most would see it as counter-productive."  
"But it's not?" John said. Sherlock nodded. "Then I suppose I would do that." John said. Sherlock nodded thoughtfully for a moment then stood up abruptly. "Alright." Sherlock said, "Let's go."  
"What?" John said, his mind still processing Sherlock's sudden movement. Then it caught up. John immediately stood up and grabbed his coat. "Where are we going?"  
"To the prison." Sherlock said.  
"Why?" John asked, obviously confused.  
"To break Moriarty out."


	2. Alright

"And why in the world are we doing that?!" John exclaimed.

"The man we're after John, he's had contact with Moriarty." Sherlock said, tightening the scarf around his neck. "Moriarty has worked with him. He's a slippery character, and our best bet to catching him is Moriarty."

"So we're going to ask Moriarty, the person who is obsessed with burning the heart out of you, to help us track one of his fellow criminals down?" John said in disbelief.

"Believe me when I say I like this no more than you do. If it weren't for the lives at stake, than I would have gone about this any other way possible." Sherlock said.

"What makes you think that he'll help us?!" John asked. "He hates you. He's obsessed with killing you. Why would he help us?"

"He doesn't want to kill me John, he wants to beat me." Sherlock said. "My status of life or death doesn't matter to him so long as he can continue his little games. Plus, Moriarty has a score to settle with this particular criminal. He's the reason Moriarty got caught. I'm going to play off of that."

"Sherlock..." John said.

"I'm going with or without you." Sherlock said. "Are you coming or not?"

John hesitated a moment, then nodded.

"Alright." He said, "But just to make sure you don't get yourself killed."

"Arrested is more likely in this case." Sherlock supplied as John followed him out of the door.

"Thank you for the reassurance." John said.

"Your welcome."

Sherlock had entirely missed the sarcasm.

John rolled his eyes and climbed into the taxi that had just pulled up.

Taxis always seemed to be there as soon as Sherlock lifted a finger, and John couldn't help but wonder if Mycroft didn't just keep one around just for them at all times.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the super short chapter. I just had to get that out there, and that seemed to be a good end to a chapter. I'll try to keep them longer in the future.

As always, reviews are appreciated.


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